Gilad Shalit was captured by Palestinian
fighters at a border post in June 2006.
The Hamas movement said Thursday that no progress had been made in the talks aimed at securing a deal for the release of captured Israeli occupation soldier Gilad Shalit, despite Israeli media reports.A source in the Palestinian resistance organization said, "If the Israelis want to talk and discuss, they know where, how and with whom, but the people in Israel should know that its government is not doing a thing to advance the issue."
Abu Mujahed, a spokesman for the Popular Resistance Committees, also said that there was no news on the Shalit issue. "The Israelis are wrong if they think the war will help them pressure us on Shalit. Our demands have not changed: The entire list of prisoners we demanded, and in addition, launching talks on lifting the siege."
Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert was asked earlier Thursday about the opportunity to return Shalit now that the military operation in Gaza was over, and replied, "I believe the questions about Shalit are legitimate, but my response will not advance his release. I am working, I have worked and I will work for his release."
He claimed that the military offensive in Gaza "created leverages which could speed up Shalit's return to Israel."
Nonetheless, Abu Mujahed stated that serious negotiations aimed at lifting the blockade imposed on the Gaza Strip will lead to the start of a discussion on the Shalit issue, but that if the crossings are not opened no progress will be made. The PRC spokesman refused to address reports which surfaced at the start of “Operation Cast Lead” that Shalit had been injured, saying "no comment".
He also noted that there would be no information for free on Shalit's fate and condition. In response to the reports that Israeli sources, including the Shin Bet chief, are willing to transfer some of the prisoners to the Strip or abroad, Abu Mujahed said that this would be part of the negotiations and therefore it should not be discussed on the media.
Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni, who met her European counterparts on Wednesday night, told a press conference that the crisis in Gaza would not be resolved so long as Gilad Shalit remains in Hamas' hands.
EGYPT FM: SHALIT’S STATUS UNKNOWN
Meanwhile, Egyptian foreign minister, Ahmed Aboul Gheit, said Wednesday that neither Egypt nor Israel had information on the fate of Shalit, held by Hamas since his capture in June 2006. Whether "Shalit is alive or not is a question that needs to be studied. I have no information (about it) and I think the Israeli side does not, "he said.
ISRAEL READY TO PAY TERRIBLE PRICE FOR SHALIT
An Israeli minister, who is also a member of the security cabinet, said Wednesday that the Israeli defense establishment is of the opinion that “Operation Cast Lead” has improved the chances of a deal for captured occupation soldier Gilad Shalit's release. "There is a solid majority in the cabinet supporting the release of many murderers for Shalit's release," he said.
The minister went on to explain that "Shalit is the subject of a consensus both in the government and the general public, and we will be able to pay the most awful price for his release."
Amos Gilad, the head of the Israeli Defense Ministry's political-security branch, is expected to raise the issue when he arrives on Thursday in Cairo for talks with the Egyptians on the security situation following the Gaza invasion. Gilad is expected to say that Israel would not open the crossings except for humanitarian needs until negotiations for Shalit's release are resumed. While refraining from directly negotiating with Hamas, Israel has in past talks used Egypt as a broker. Gilad will meet with head of Egyptian intelligence, Omar Suleiman in Cairo. Gilad and Suleiman will continue talks on the joint effort to halt smuggling activity on the Egypt-Gaza border.
Israel and Egypt are also expected to form a joint committee to deal with arms smuggling into the Gaza Strip. According to a government official, the Israeli delegation to the committee will comprise representatives from the defense establishment and the intelligence community who will try to coordinate a work program to prevent smuggling, while exchanging information about the phenomenon. "Egypt has come to realize that it has no choice but to address the smuggling," the official said. The committee will probably include an American representative and possibly another delegate from the European Union.
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